SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - The Augustana baseball team locked up the No. 2 seed in the NSIC Tournament after sweeping a pair of games against Northern State on Tuesday afternoon at Ronken Field.
The wins move Augustana to 33-14 overall and 27-10 in the NSIC while Northern State falls to 13-31, 9-28.
Game 1: Augustana 8, Northern State 1
Trevor Winterstein had another multi-hit game, going 3 for 4 with two runs scored and a double with an RBI.
Kobe Eikmeier had two hits while
Carter Heinsch and
Ragan Pinnow each had a home run and two RBI.
Ryan Clementi started the bullpen game, allowing an earned run on one hit in three innings while striking out one.
Joel Van De Stroet and
Aidan Torpey combined for two scoreless frames while
Tom Sun struck out a pair in two innings.
Troy Berg led off the second inning with an infield single before a one-out blast from Pinnow opened the scoring. Lunquist reset the inning with a walk before stealing second and Eikmeier singled to center to drive him home and make it 3-0.
The Wolves scored a run in the third inning to get within 3-1. In the fifth inning, Winterstein singled to lead off and Heinsch lifted a towering fly ball to left, making it over the fence through the wind to add onto the AU lead.
Hines followed the home run up with a double and moved to third on a
Jason Axelberg groundout.
Troy Berg walked on a wild pitch that allowed Hines to cross the plate and put the Vikings ahead 6-1.
In the bottom of the sixth, Eikmeier singled and scored on a Winterstein double. After a pitching change, Winterstein stole third and scored on an Axelberg sac fly to bring the game to its final score.
Game 2: Augustana 8, Northern State 5
Four Vikings had a pair of hits in game two, led by two hits and two RBI from
Jason Axelberg.
Ragan Pinnow had two hits with a pair of runs scored while Clementi and
Joe Kolbeck had two hits each.
In the sixth inning,
Jack Hines recorded his 220th career RBI, passing
Jordan Barth on the program's all-time list.
Drew Ball moved to 2-0 with three scoreless innings and four strikeouts to open the game.
Jadon Bast and
Adam Diedrich followed with scoreless frames.
Ethan Hoffman allowed a pair of runs, one earned, in an inning,
Jack Sutton gave up three runs, two earned, while recording an out and
Harry Blum earned his fourth save of the season while facing nine batters in 2 2/3 innings.
To lead off the second inning, Axelberg sent a blast to dead centerfield to open the scoring. Pinnow followed with a double on the next pitch and after a hit, Lind had a double of his own to make it 2-0 AU.
In the bottom of the fourth, Pinnow and Clementi each singled and stole to reach scoring position. Lind drew a four-pitch walk to lead the bases and Siegel started a string of three straight RBI singles. A Heinsch sac fly capped the scoring, putting the Vikings in front 6-0.
Two runs in the top of the sixth inning put the Wolves on the board. The Vikings countered with a Hines sac fly and Axelberg RBI single brought the Viking lead back to six at 8-2.
Northern State continued its rally with three runs in the top of the seventh inning to get within 8-5. Hines added another sac fly in the eighth inning and
Nate Soelter closed the scoring with a sac bunt to cap the victory.
Augustana will end the regular season this weekend, taking on Minot State in Minot, N.D., for a three-game set.
